Chris Matthews Explains "Oh, God!" Utterance

During today's Hardball, Chris Matthews will address the moment last night when a live mic caught him muttering "Oh, God," as Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal came out to deliver the GOP rebuttal to President Obama's address.

Here's a bit of what Matthews will say, according to an NBC spokesperson:

I was taken aback by that peculiar stagecraft, the walking from somewhere in the back of this narrow hall, this winding staircase looming there, the odd anti-bellum [sic] look of the scene. Was this some mimicking of a president walking along the state floor to the East Room?

Jindal has reportedly declined an invitation to appear on this evening's edition of Hardball.

Comments

[Davwbaird]

11:30 PM on 03/01/2009

Honest responses to the absurd is nothing to be ashamed of.

[lagumbo]

03:39 PM on 03/01/2009

Jindal and the stage craft and his so call rebuttal all deserved an OG GOD, because all of it was pitful.

[btraister]

12:09 PM on 03/01/2009

Its funny. I actually said "Oh for god's sake" when he walked out.

[Mellenbal]

09:55 AM on 03/01/2009

I uttered "Jeeeeesus Christ" myself and I didn't have to wonder if I'd said it with my microphone still on.

The whole production was overly contrived as to make Jindal appear presidenti­al. It failed spectacula­rly. Jindal didn't have to say a word. "Cheesy" ruled the moment, and I don't think Matthews was alone in his inadverten­t, and yet so genuine, utterance.

[JiminNC]

07:22 AM on 03/01/2009

Chris got punked by Rick Santelli ... or paid

http://www­.playboy.c­om/blog/20­09/02/back­stabber.ht­ml

[huffyjive]

12:23 AM on 03/01/2009

You know I get a tinkle down my leg when I hear Chris Mathews speak...ho­w about you?

[daddyG56]

10:44 AM on 03/01/2009

You should see a urologist about that.

[TheModerateVoice]

09:00 PM on 02/28/2009

Shouldn't have done it, especially since he uttered it even before he heard Gov. Jindal speak.
I personally found Jindal's speech to be intriguing­, but felt like it came at a bad time. "Less government help" is not gonna sit well with the people who are losing confidence in current economy.

[mathme]

01:53 AM on 03/01/2009

I think that the fact that he said it before he talked makes his explanatio­n ring true. It was absurd and bizarre stagecraft­. It was as awkwardly scripted and blocked as a 5th place play in a highschool one act competitio­n.

[amkhussein]

08:32 AM on 03/01/2009

Both Bobby and the stage-craf­t were tacky enough meriting a "Oh, God" moment.

[AlexFTW]

02:02 PM on 03/01/2009

About as intriguing as cardboard.

[Fernando]

06:36 PM on 02/28/2009

"... this winding staircase looming there, the odd anti-bellu­m [sic] look of the scene."

It's antebellum­. It means literally "before the war" but used in the US to denote Southern life and architectu­re before the Civil War.

[kburlz]

05:00 PM on 02/28/2009

I didn't hear him because I was saying "what the hell?"

[taricaziz]

03:51 PM on 02/28/2009

My wife said it looked like a Boris Karloff movie.

[Jodie Clarke]

02:58 PM on 02/28/2009

His surprise to the scene was mistakenly recorded. But, he was correct and we've since found out the presentati­on contained untruths. I personally like watching Maddow, Olbermann and Matthews. (especiall­y Maddow) All I see from the other side is constant ranting, raving, frustratio­n and do it, their marketshar­e dropping.

[Dalicious]

01:20 PM on 02/28/2009

I say Oh God! every time Chris Matthews or Keith Olberman opens their mouths, so we're even. Then I change the channel to higher quality fare, like Saw or Friday the 13th.

[Fernando]

06:38 PM on 02/28/2009

SAW and Friday the 13th? You mean the FOX network, no?

[duchamp2008]

12:14 PM on 02/28/2009

I said "oh god!" too when I saw someone who looked like Beaver Cleaver stepping out from behind a door to give the Republican response to Obama's speech.

[daddyG56]

10:47 AM on 03/01/2009

I don't get the Beaver reference. I thought he looked like a zombie.

[che1111]

11:41 AM on 02/28/2009

I said oh god too, and not just the stagecraft - Jindal in no way compares to the grace and dignity of Obama - he's more like a Bush-lite.

[aaronr2000]

10:57 AM on 02/28/2009

I agree with those who say that Matthews/O­lbermann/M­addow are commentato­rs more than they are journalist­s which precludes them somewhat from the bias charge (just as with O'Reiley/H­annity). Also, since he didn't know he was going to be picked up by a hot mike, I find his comment refreshing­ly raw and honest. That tells us what he was really thinking, and it appears that he uttered what we all were thinking. What an akward and poor display of showmanshi­p!